The 5th-ranked LSU women’s basketball team traveled to New Orleans to take on the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters in the Compete 4 Cause Classic. LSU had no issues improving to 11-0 on the season with an 87-61 win on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
LSU jumped out to a six-point lead, scoring from within 10 feet three times on its first four possessions. Flau’Jae Johnson rolled right for a simple baseline jumper, and Grace Knox had a couple of opportunities for layups before Louisiana Tech caught fire from behind the arc. On three straight possessions, the Lady Techsters hit three three-point shots. Paris Bradley made the first, then Jianna Morris scored the other two. Those buckets gave Tech the one-point lead less than three minutes in.
Kim Mulkey called a timeout midway through the opening quarter and subbed in three players. The offense scored twice in the paint and had an Amiya Joyner free throw before Bradley knocked down another three to put the Lady Techsters ahead 17-15. The Tiger defense improved down the stretch, forcing tough shots at the end of the shot clock, but LSU found itself down by two after 10 minutes.
The Tigers began to take over in the second quarter. LSU went on a 10-0 run through the first four minutes of the period, with Joyner and Knox getting into the paint for a pair of layups, then a team effort resulted in six made free throws to put the Purple and Gold ahead by eight. During the run, Louisiana Tech turned the ball over three times.
The Lady Techsters ended their scoring drought with a Jayden Terry three-pointer. It took another two-and-a-half minutes before Tech knocked down another shot. In that time, Jada Richard found Kate Koval for an open layup for LSU’s lone bucket a few possessions ahead of Bradley, hitting her third triple before the half.
The final couple of minutes were back-and-forth, featuring a Mikaylah Williams three and another Koval basket in the paint for the Tigers, and a Morris layup with 17 seconds to go. Richard missed the final shot before the buzzer, but LSU went into the break ahead 39-30.
It took nearly two minutes into the third quarter for the game’s first bucket of the second half. That led to LSU outscoring LA Tech 9-6 over the next two-and-a-half minutes as Williams hit her second three-pointer and a midrange jumper.
Over the final 2:27 of the third, the Tigers went on a 9-0 run to take a commanding 17-point lead going into the final quarter. Koval was fed more in the paint, and Johnson made a couple of plays late in the quarter. Johnson stole Jordan Marshall’s pass and finished the play with a tip-in shot off Fuwiley’s miss in transition, then made a jumpshot with 46 seconds remaining. The Tigers added to their lead in the fourth quarter.
LSU dominated the rest of the way and continued to live at the free throw line and draw fouls on Louisiana Tech. The offense was relentless down to the closing minutes as they stretched their lead to beyond 30 points. Fuwiley contributed with a couple of baskets from behind the arc and by the end of it all, the Tigers remined undefeate dwith an 87-61 win over Louisiana Tech.
BIG NUMBER: 33
The Lady Techsters were keeping it competitive early on in Saturday’s contest, evening having a four-point lead at one point in time. As the second half unfolded, the Tigers took over, going up 17 points after the third quarter and were up by as much as 33 late in the four.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Mikayla Williams
Williams shot well on minimal shot attempts, going 6/10 on the night for 19 points. The junior guard also recorded five rebounds, four assists, and three steals as LSU took down Louisiana Tech 87-61 and improved to 11-0 on the season.
UP NEXT: The LSU Tigers women’s basketball team will return home on Tuesday, December 16th, to face the Morgan State Lady Bears. Tipoff from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center is set for 11:00 AM, and the action can be heard on Mustang 107.1.